Nearly ten dozen more of our Michigan neighbors are gone in the past day, lost to the Covid-19 lung infection.
State figures show 117 deaths since Wednesday, for a stunning three-week toll of 1,076. One-quarter of the fatalities are from Detroit (275 people).
Virus deaths statewide have soared 158% in a week, rising from 417 last Thursday.
Since the first two cases March 10, 21,504 people have been diagnosed with the lung infection in this state, including an unknown number who’ve recovered.
(Graphic: Michigan Department of Health and Human Services)
Diagnosed cases rose by 1,158 in the past 24 hours – an increase rate of 5.7%, reinforcing signs of possible flattening. (Last Thursday, new cases climbed 15.6%. Exactly two weeks ago, they went up 24%.)
Michigan may be at a plateau of new cases, though week-to-week raw totals still are dramatic: Confirmed diagnoses have nearly doubled in the past seven days, surging 99.3% from 10,791 last Thursday.
Reality check: Not everyone counted as diagnosed is in intensive care or even still affected. The rolling state tally doesn’t reflect recovered and discharged patients, though three Metro Detroit hospitals share this:
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Henry Ford Health System’s five hospitals sent 859 Covid patients home, as of Wednesday afternoon.
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Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak posts informally on a lobby sign that 989 patients are "discharged and heading toward recovery."
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Detroit Medical Center today shows 426 Covid patient discharges on a lobby display.
Thursday’s overall tally includes 17,127 patients from Detroit and its surrounding three counties (nearly 80% of the total).
Here are confirmed coronavirus infections and deaths locally since mid-March:
- Detroit: 6,061 cases | 275 deaths
- Oakland: 4,247 cases | 246 deaths
- Wayne (except Detroit): 4,032 cases | 229 deaths
- Macomb: 2,783 cases | 165 deaths
Stay-home order expands
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer today extended the state's "Stay home, stay safe" order through the end of this month. It originally was set to expire Monday.
"Michigan has the third-highest number of Covid-19 cases in the country, and we're still on the upswing," she says in a statement and at a mid-afternoon televised briefing. "We must continue to do everything we can to slow the spread and protect our families. ...
"When we do, we can save lives and shorten the amount of time we’re working through this crisis, which will be good for our families and good for our economy in the long run. ... Now more than ever, it’s crucial that people stay home and stay safe."
Aretha's escort dies
The queen of soul and Willie WIlkerson
Willie Wilkerson, long-time romantic partner, road manager, friend and escort to the late soul legend Aretha Franklin, died Wednesday of Covid-19 at Ascension Providence Hospital in Rochester, the Free Press reports. He was 72.
Wilkerson, a retired Detroit firefighter, first met Franklin in the late '80s when he was seated in the front row at one of her concerts, and his "hooting and hollering" caught her attention.
The two chatted further after the show, (DFD colleague Reginald) Amos told the Free Press in 2012, just after the couple had announced they were engaged.
When they met, they learned that both had apartments in Detroit’s Riverfront Towers. Soon their relationship blossomed, turning into decades of an off-and-on romance, with Wilkerson also functioning as Franklin’s escort and road manager on her cross-country bus tours after she developed a fear of flying.
Their engagement in 2012 was the last of more than one canceled nuptials. A Free Press story at the time described Wilkerson as “a strapping Vietnam War veteran with a love of Cadillacs — Cadillac Willie is a nickname — (and) a sturdy, steady presence at Franklin’s side.”
Winans brothers recovering
Gospel music legends Marvin and BeBe Winans, both of whom fell ill with coronavirus, report they are recovering in their separate cities.
Rev. (Marvin) Winans, of the Grammy-award winning gospel group The Winans, said he was released from St. Joseph Hospital in Pontiac on Tuesday after being there since Friday. He said he had a high fever and cough, but did not experience any debilitating symptoms. He had been in the hospital a few days prior to Friday, and was readmitted when symptoms resurfaced.
BeBe Winans, who lives in Nashville, said he tested positive for coronavirus on March 15. He was never hospitalized, he said. His symptoms included coughing and fatigue. He prayed and he followed doctor’s instructions to self-quarantine.
'Not an ideal situation'
Consider the stark reality from chief executive Brian Peters of the Michigan Health and Hospital Associationin a Crain's interview excerpt. His trade group, based near Lansing, has represented community hospitals in Michigan since 1919 -- a year after the Spanish flu pandemic.
He discusses hospitals' supplies of personal protective equipment:
"We're in a better place now than we were a week ago. But we still don't have enough. ...
"We're looking at days' [worth of] PPE on hand. Some hospitals in Southeast Michigan, a week ago, literally had one day of PPE on hand. The good news is now we have three or four days of PPE on hand. That's still a really striking figure.
"Unless the cavalry is coming, we're going to run out in three days. That's not that's not an ideal situation, obviously, but it is improved from where we were a week ago."
No rest for the bunny
(Graphic: WXYZ)
Gov. Whitmer took to Facebook to assure Michigan children that Easter baskets and cash for lost teeth will not be delayed by the current lockdown. The Detroit News reports on the governor's statement:
In a lighthearted video posted Wednesday on Facebook, Whitmer said she "spoke with the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy to let them know that they are essential workers and they can still keep doing their jobs even though the rest of us are staying home. They’re following all of the procedures we gave them to make sure they can stay safe and healthy."
That comes with a catch, though, she added.
"Now, they did let us know that there was an increase in demand for the goodies that they leave behind for you all, so they may need to make some substitutions for this year’s treats," the governor said while holding her dog, Kevin. "But they are excited to visit you and simply ask that you be sure to listen to your parents. Make sure you wash your hands so that you can stay happy and stay healthy."
Easter, online
The Free Press has an evolving list of dozens of Metro Detroit religious institutions that will livestream Easter and Holy Week services. Find it here.
Historic high, sadly
Michigan jobless claims continue to be alarmingly abnormal, just like so much else now. The Detroit News relays numbers from Associated Press:
The state has exceeded Great Recession-level weekly unemployment numbers for the third week straight, setting a new high point with more than 384,000 people filing last week under expanded benefits prompted by the coronavirus pandemic.
... The figure eclipses the 128,006 who filed for unemployment between March 15 and March 21 and the 304,335 who filed for unemployment between March 22 and March 28.
The virus-prompted filings bring the three-week total to 817,185 jobless claims in Michigan. The state of Michigan on average has roughly 5,000 claims filed a week.
Bridge magazine writer Jonathan Oosting niotes on Twitter that "initial unemployment insurance claims filed over the past three weeks in Michigan are more than in all of 2018 and 2019 combined." The total for those years was 777,907, he adds.
